I've Got Friends in Low Places
by Ash Gray Kitsune
Summary: Tony hates being kidnapped. Seriously. Hates. It. But he's used to it, knows the game and how to play it...what's he supposed to do when his fellow captive is an Asgardian Prince who's never been held by strangers against his will? He plays the game and drags Loki along for the ride, that's what. FrostIron, rated M for PTSD and some trauma.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: I've got Friends in Low Places**

**Author: Ash Gray Kitsune**

**Fandom: Avengers Movieverse**

**Chapters: 1/?**

**Pairings: FrostIron**

**Warnings: Some PTSD mentions, and some sexual torture. Don't worry, Tony and Loki both don't take that crap. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's The Avengers, nor do I make any profit off of it.**

Tony Stark was no stranger to being kidnapped.

He had, at last count, roughly a hundred and twenty-seven kidnappings under his belt...but only one still gave him nightmares. He tapped the soft blue circle on his chest, face a mask as he stared out over the press room and saw sweeping golden sands instead...covering the dark, dangerous caverns that had hidden the terrorist group so effectively. Rough, calloused fingers, lined permanently with residual oil, dug into the reactor's edge for a moment, and he took a shaky breath, blinking rapidly to clear his vision enough to register Pepper's soft voice in the background. She was talking to...Phil. Right. Yeah. Because Tony was the one who did all the Avengers press now...a hand touched his shoulder, slim and pale, and he turned, fake smile plastered on.

To his relief, it must have reached his eyes; Pep returned it and motioned for him to lead the way, his cue cards in her other hand.

"Ready, Tony?"

"As ever, Pep..." The speech lasted way too long, and he occupied his brain with redesigning Hawkeye's grappling arrows while Coulson and Pepper answered the questions, then moved on to fixing Thor's tablet...Finally, Coulson ended the conference and Tony was allowed to flee back to his Tower, his workshop, and his blessed couch, nursing a cup of black coffee and a smoothie from Dummy's still mostly incapable claws. He sighed and turned down the lights.

"Jarvis, make sure no one comes down?"

"Of course, sir; what might I tell any interested parties?"

"That Stark's napping and needs some alone time. Might as well be truthful, otherwise Barton and Romanoff will be down here poking around."

"Of course, sir. Sleep well. I'll keep Dummy at his charging station."

"Nah, he's fine. He's...just doing what we ask him to do."

"...Of course, sir. Rest well; I'll alert you if a call comes in."

"Thanks, Jarvis." The lullaby of wires humming and Dummy's wheels rolling over the floor was just enough; he slipped into a deep sleep, pausing only long enough to pull a blanket over his shoulders.

...

A sharp pain, alarms going off, red lights flashing...he swung, groggily, and fell into arms that weren't nearly as comforting as his couch, and there was a screech, a furious scrabbling on the concrete floor...and Tony was gone.

...

The chains were the first thing that woke him; tight steel bands on his wrists and neck, holding him to the ground, and Tony jerked, chocolate eyes going wide and frightened as he fought, only for a sharp poke to his side make him crouch back down, panting like a wounded animal as he turned...face to foot with familiar pale skin and black leather pants, though those were the only clothing Loki was wearing, his long torso covered in bruises. The mage was chained up to the ceiling, barely able to touch the floor as his arms were stretched above his head...the same bridle he had worn back to Asgard still on his mouth, though the metal was heavily pitted and dented.

Dark green eyes, half-mad in pain and desperation, narrowed at him, but flickered behind his right shoulder, staring long and hard at the doorway there. He lifted his chin, as if to say that Tony should look as well, and cautiously, the engineer turned, brown eyes analyzing everything he could see. The door was enormous, and definitely a steel-alloy; the soft play of blue over the surface from his reactor showed that in the way the light twisted, and if there were hinges, they were on the other side, or hidden in the casing, because he couldn't see anyway of getting it open from this side. No handle, no lock mechanism...nothing. The walls were just as solid, and tiny, far away clerestory windows glowed above, a good twelve feet away...and he swore, long but soft, and glanced back at the mage.

"How long have you been here?" The same foot that had poked him tapped on the floor, once, twice...thirty times, and Tony stared up at him, aghast. "Fuck...and...no one's come looking?" A disgruntled rumble from Loki's chest answered him that, and Tony closed his eyes, swallowing.

"...Did they torture you the whole time." A pained sigh, and those eerie eyes softened, just a little as Loki nodded.

"Fuck...how'd you...how'd you get caught?" Another rumble, and his foot tapped again, this time using a code that Tony was far too familiar with. Morse...thank god for Morse code. _Escaped. Went to wrong help. Foolish._

"...Thor must never have been told, then, because last I knew, he thought you were serving penance."

_Father would not tell. _

"Sounds like my old man..." Green eyes darkened.

_Fathers do not care._

"...Sometimes they don't. Look, I...I'm not letting this happen. You wanna bust out?"

_Yes_.

"Good...they leave any metal on you?"

_...Pockets. Coin?_

"That'll work...Fuck, yes, they didn't search my pants...Don't ask, just let me know if anything happens..." Tony set to work on the tiny kit of lock picks that he sewed into every single pair of pants he owned, ripping threads with his nails as he pried it out, one bit at a time. Each hem, each seam had a tiny bit of something hidden in it; his suit jackets and ties usually had equally useful extras, but his pants were the big ones. Of course, he hadn't been wearing his shoes...he cursed himself that, knowing that the miniature trackers in each heel would have had Jarvis zoomed in on him in minutes.

A faint _click_ made his heartbeat skip a little, and the one on his left wrist fell away, landing with a soft clank. Its sibling followed, and he had to work for a bit to get the one around his neck; the lock was on the back of the neck. Thankfully, that was easy enough, too, and he rubbed his neck, wincing, before standing up and reaching for Loki's chains...only to realize that he couldn't quite reach.

"Fuck." Soft taps drew his attention downwards.

_Use body. Climb up._ As if to reiterate, he wound his long fingers into the chains themselves, and with a pained grunt, lifted his weight, muscles quivering, and Tony squirreled up his torso, inwardly blessing Clint for the climbing lessons just the other week, and worked each manacle loose. He dropped in a crouch and caught the suddenly limp mage, gently leaning Loki's weight onto the wall and reached for the bridle...only for a frighteningly strong hand to close on his wrist in warning. Instead, Loki undid the snaps by the simple expedient of ripping it off, biting off a howl of pain as he spat blood to the side, panting.

"...I bloody well _hate_ that damn thing." He snarled, tossing it across the cell.

**A/N: Some FrostIron/kidnapping to make you all happy. The Winter Soldier...is taking a hiatus, because of NaNoWriMo coming up, and little spare time to agonize over it. So, DRABBLE FICS! This one will be a few chapters, but short and sweet.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: I've got Friends in Low Places**

**Author: Ash Gray Kitsune**

**Fandom: Avengers Movieverse**

**Chapters: 1/?**

**Pairings: FrostIron**

**Warnings: Some PTSD mentions, and some sexual torture. Don't worry, Tony and Loki both don't take that crap. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's The Avengers, nor do I make any profit off of it.**

Distant shouts brought both their heads up, and Tony immediately started in on the bolts that held his manacles to the floor, earning himself a glance from Loki.

"We'll need a weapon, and I don't know about you but these-" He waggled a pick in his hand, "aren't strong enough to do more than jam up a nostril." Loki quirked an eyebrow, but slowly stood up, gripping the chains above him for support.

"You are...surprisingly adaptive to this environment." His voice held only a trace of a slur; he must have held his tongue amazingly still to have so little damage. Or else, he simply healed around the spikes that had been in his mouth...not imagery that he wanted to dwell on. So, he focused instead on a light tone, keeping his disdain for their captors in full force.

"Yeah, comes with the territory of being a famous warmonger's brat." He muttered, freeing two more bolts and starting in on the fourth, satisfied with the weight in his hand. It'd be a little annoying, but damn if it wouldn't hit hard. Loki made a confused noise and Tony glanced up. "What?"

"I did not realize that you were a child of war."

"...not a kid of war, dude. Warmonger. War profiteer. Weapons manufacturing. Dear ol' Dad was world-famous for his weaponry and I...followed in his footsteps. For a while."

"Then, you became Iron Man."

"No, then...then I grew the fuck up." He grated, freeing the manacle from the floor. Loki shifted, slipping to the floor, and Tony handed him the makeshift weapon, starting in on the opposite one.

"You said...that this is something you know."

"One hundred, twenty-seven kidnappings. This makes one-twenty-eight." The silence was telling, and Tony looked up. "What?" Loki's face was a study in horror.

"Why on earth would anyone kidnap a person so many times?!" A fluid shrug, and Tony made a soft noise.

"For money, fame, murder, what have you. The slave-trade one was hilarious, like they actually thought a pissy fourteen year old genius would just obey a fat john." Loki was a little green, and covering his mouth with one hand as Tony continued. "Then there was building someone something...again, fucking jackoffs...uh...had a few decent years at MIT, and a little after...then came Afghanistan. Twice there...second time, that's when I built the Mark I. And got the glowy blue battery in my ribcage." He muttered, one hand coming up to tap the reactor's surface.

"You lost a friend." Tony froze and whipped his head up to stare at Loki, faint fear under the mask of cool anger.

"...who told you about Yensin?" The mage shook his head, a little stunned.

"It was mentioned...in a paper somewhere...before...before I was first arrested. I was trying to study my enemies..."

"...So you hunted down our weaknesses. Yeah. Lost a friend...the friend who saved my sorry, worthless skin." He growled out, yanking off the second manacle and spinning it expertly, getting comfortable with the weight...only for Loki's hand to land on his shoulder. He glared at the mage. "What?" Dark green eyes held a world of pain in their depths, and he ducked his head, anger bleeding out.

"...For all our differences, you, and the rest of your team, would be welcome in Asgard. Outcast I may be, but that much, I know. You all would be cherished, there...especially you. Your ability to create is...second only to the Allfather." Tony choked back a harsh laugh and shrugged off that hand, hunching his shoulders.

"Look, seriously, Reindeer Games, I'm about the biggest fuck-up on the face of this planet. Trust me, every major organization, every politician, and every fucking terrorist has it out for me, because you know what? Dear Daddy left me a whooooooole lot of enemies, you know that? So, you, whatever these fuckers are, and every other dumbass out for my blood? I. Am. Fucking. Used. To. It." He snapped, biting off each word and hissing, and Loki's touch fell away...and Tony didn't think about much it bugged him, now, to be without touch again. He was so used to slaps on the back or hands on the shoulder now...

"...I apologize."

"...Forget it. Let's...just get the fuck out of here. Can you use your magic?" Loki was quiet; long enough Tony just about gave up...when the mage uttered a gutteral incantation, and one of the windows dropped down, the glass disappearing and the opening widening just enough for them to slip through.

"It will remain this way...thankfully, the goons who captured us both are far larger than us..."

"So it'll take a bit for them to follow?"

"With luck..." Tony stood up, chain around his neck, and motioned for the mage to go first.

"Asgardians first." Loki gave him a smile at that, a true one, small and rather...comforting, and Tony focused on not-staring at the black, leather-clad ass scrambling through the opening. _If we get through this alive...fuck it, we're going to dinner._

**Chapter two was a lot of fun; snarking and feels, all around! I feel somewhat accomplished now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: I've got Friends in Low Places**

**Author: Ash Gray Kitsune**

**Fandom: Avengers Movieverse**

**Chapters: 3/?**

**Pairings: FrostIron**

**Warnings: Some PTSD mentions, and some sexual torture. Don't worry, Tony and Loki both don't take that crap. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's The Avengers, nor do I make any profit off of it.**

Tony took a moment to thank a deity when the window-turned-escape-hatch opened out into a swathe of heavy brush, and that Loki had slunk down under one of the taller ones, eyes glancing all around, hands glowing faintly with power. Tony followed, feeling rather exposed by the small ring of bare ground before he slid under the branches, heaving a soft sigh of relief.

"Alright...you got a spell to figure out which direction is safest?" Loki glanced at him, strain showing around his eyes.

"...I've one for dowsing, but otherwise..." The glow disappeared and he rocked forward, stopping only when Tony caught him. "Ah...thank you. We'll have to rely on tracking and survival skills. Thank all the realms Father forced us to learn to hunt as children..." He blinked suddenly, and swayed in Tony's grip. "...I believe I've taxed myself a little too much." The engineer sighed and looped an arm over his shoulder.

"Yeah, you did...c'mon. You tell me where to go, I'll help you there." Loki gave a soft chuckle.

"It's rather odd, isn't it?" Tony just smiled.

"Yeah, well...I tend to let bygones be bygones when I'm in the same boat as someone. Unless it's Justin Hammer. In which case, that fucker can squeal all he wants in chains, because I will drop his ass." Loki stifled a laugh at that, and carefully, quietly, the pair started through the thickets, each hoping that the next turn wouldn't mean a trap.

...

"...Alright, dude. We are so lost."

"Hardly. Follow the deer track, Stark."

"Looks like goats to me..."

"Their tracks are far too small. See, look at that hoof-print? That is a deer print, or so help me, I'll eat my pants."

"Trust me, I'm hungry enough to take you up on that offer."

"...I was joking."

"...I'm not." Loki sighed and motioned for Tony to let him lean against a tree; a proper tree, in a forest that shielded them from the worst of the sun, though said sun was setting and it was definitely cooling down...and his lockpicks would work with flints. Provided he could find flints...

"Look, I'm aware this is all very new to you in terms of escape...but please, trust me. I know forest survival...and if you're that hungry, we can forage. Which might be a wise thing; they didn't feed me much back there." Tony gave him a onceover and winced; he could well imagine that...

"Alright, so...what are we eating?" Loki studied the forest around them with interest, even if he was sagging into the tree, and pointed to a set of dark red berries, sighing a little.

"Bring me one right quick; I can't tell if they're the right ones or not..." Mystified, Tony brought back a whole sprig, letting Loki crush one and delicately lick it's juices...only for the mage to smile. "Thank the realms, they're wild strawberries; pick as many as you can reach." Stealing a couple, Tony gave a soft 'Oh!' and started picking the bushes clean, using his shirt as a basket and coming back to the mage, almost giddy.

"Holy crap, these are amazing...and they're safe to eat?"

"Very. I thought it might be a strawberry bush, but with the light falling, I just couldn't quite tell. They'll keep us hydrated as well..."

"...Thank god for that, I do not want to deal with bearshit-inspired e-coli." Loki almost snorted a berry, laughing softly.

"You're quite the character, Stark..." Tony just saluted him, grinning wickedly, and Loki chuckled.

"...It's a pity we started out as enemies. I...would have liked to get to know you." He murmured, delicately eating the berries off his fingertips, which Tony was steadfastly not watching.

"...Well, enemy of my enemy, right? And right now...we're not enemies. We're comrades." Loki's eyes were quiet, but he nodded.

"That, we are." His eyes went up, and sighed. "As soon as we're finished, we'd best get moving. Keep your eyes open for a suitable tree; I'll not sleep on the ground tonight." Tony grinned a little.

"Too lowly for your Highness's back?" Loki gazed at him, solemn, and Tony felt a chill go up his spine, grin freezing on his face.

"No...there will be dogs. And not the sort my brother takes after."

**Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Chapter three. Might move on to four too tonight; we'll see.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: I've got Friends in Low Places**

**Author: Ash Gray Kitsune**

**Fandom: Avengers Movieverse**

**Chapters: 4/?**

**Pairings: FrostIron**

**Warnings: Some PTSD mentions, and some sexual torture. Don't worry, Tony and Loki both don't take that crap. :D LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER. Because Tony is totally a Regretsy stalker.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's The Avengers, nor do I make any profit off of it.**

Tony was very, very glad for Loki's insistance that they sleep in a tree that night; the dogs howled all through the night, and what looked to be Hydra goons prowled their trail, confused by the swift cut off that was all Loki could manage as they curled up, the mage's head resting against Tony's reactor, hiding the glow quite effectively. Part of it was for warmth; the wind was a touch too cool for his tastes, and damn, but he hated being cold...for the first time in four years, he desperately missed the desert heat. Loki was fast asleep, his bruises half-healed, his arms and legs curled up in the hollow that Tony was stretched across, and Tony smoothed his hair back, sighing.

_...He's been nothing but kind, even...even though they tortured him, hurt him...and when he's like this, in his element...he's actually pretty awesome. And easy on the eyes...oh, fuck it, Stark, you love a good piece of ass...and when there's a brain to match, you always fall a little bit in love. It's the adrenaline and the hormones...not...not..._ A loud _crack_ filled the forest, and he stilled, hands gripping Loki's shoulder and head close, suddenly freaked that the glow had leaked...had shown through the night...Another branch followed, and Tony all but stopped breathing, fear making his pupils blow wide...when a blaze of hateful white light seared up from the ground, and he threw an arm over his eyes, roaring with pain.

His motions jarred Loki enough that the mage followed suit, hissing and pressing back into Tony, trying to get his bearings...when ropes closed around his wrists, and the pair was yanked apart, dragged out of the tree by Hydra's infantry, and forced to kneel before a dowdy little man, whose heavy German was barely intelligible, then they were forced up and hooded, leaving Tony to struggle, his mouth gagged by a dirty rag, as they were taken away...taken back to the hell that waited them.

...

Loki woke, bleary and full of pain, once more in the manacles, though these ones were on the floor, and he laid back, sighing tiredly. _Damn...we were close, too. How did they find us?_ His thoughts wandered to Tony, and he winced, hoping that the genius wouldn't antagonize them too much. He remembered when he had done so...though he was thankful that the scold's bridle was off, and broken beyond repair. That, that had been a humilation he could not bear...

A distant scream brought his head up, and Loki strained against the chains, sudden rage bleeding his eyes dark red. _Tony..._

...

The engineer snarled, panting as the fat man gazed over at him dispassionately before turning back to his data, shuffling through thick stacks of heavy paper, something that Tony took as a personal insult. And there was a fucking _rotary phone_ sitting on the desk. Even Steve didn't like using the old ones; once he figured out his Starkphone, he was playing Angry Birds all the fucking time. This was just...fucking insulting as hell.

"Hey, fucker." Rustle-rustle.

"Yeah, you, ugly fucker." Nothing.

"Toad-sucker?" Nada.

"Ass-fister." That got him a twitch, and Tony smirked, bowling right into the entire list of swearwords he'd gathered years ago. Bless April Winchell...

"Cock-monkey." Another twitch, and he was on a roll.

"Bitch bucket. Dog-faced spawn of a boil-ridden anus. Do you have a moose taco? Your friends look like shit-drippling cuntweasels, fuckers had to blind us like that...You know, you remind me of a 'fuck me' drunk, but I'd have to be fucking dead of alcohol poisoning to even consider that shit...or are you a herpes sniffing monkey fucker? I mean, it takes all kinds in the world...or are you a sodomizing goat herder?" _Snap_. The ugly bastard turned on him, and Tony grinned, that manic smile that meant he didn't care anymore...and a fist rocked across his face. Thankfully, the dumbass didn't know how to punch, but Tony acted winded anyway, tensing against the ropes on his arms.

"You...foul little man...you will pay for that..." He hissed out, and stalked away, slamming the door behind him...only for Tony to smirk. _Amateurs_.

It took him a few minutes to work the knots looser; he had a lot in common with the great escape artists back in the day, and practice always did make perfect; with a sigh, he had his arms free, and soon enough, his hands spreading across the desk, pocketing anything he could use; paper clips, stapler...and he almost sang out. A cellphone. Not, sadly, one that was even remotely up to date, but it had a signal, a strong one, and with a gleeful, manic grin, he dialed the special number set up to contact the rest of the Avengers, SHIELD, the Fantastic Four, and the X-men. Pepper had made him do the last three, and for once, he was grateful...and that was when a roar of rage filled the building, startling him enough to almost drop the phone.

"The hell...?" That was when an armored and bright blue Loki, glowing red eyes filling the room, tore through the doorway, panting.

"Let's go, Stark."


End file.
